Live and Work Sustainably
Every member of the St. Thomas community will engage in sustainable practices, and our students will be sustainability leaders as we fully implement our sustainability strategic plan. We will participate in global Catholic networks to care for our common home. A new sustainability hub will foster collaboration among students, faculty, staff, alumni, and partners, supporting research, curriculum, and practice to accelerate scalable and equitable solutions to global sustainability challenges.
All students will be offered multiple pathways for engagement, skills development, and professional experiences across academic disciplines, preparing them to advance sustainability in any career. The university will achieve an AASHE Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) gold rating by 2025, obtain a minimum of LEED silver certification for new buildings larger than 25,000 square feet, and reduce annual carbon emissions while working toward a goal of carbon neutrality by 2035.
Related Themes
| 2025 Strategic Plan | Build Belonging and Promote Equity | Lean In to Our Catholic Mission | Strengthen Culture as We Embrace Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live and Work Sustainably | Priority | Priority | Priority |
See how the Themes and Priorities of the 2025 Strategic Plan interweave.
Measuring Progress
Success Metrics
- Achieve gold rating as measured by the AASHE Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) sustainability ranking.
- Obtain a minimum of LEED silver certification for new buildings larger than 25,000 square feet.
- Reduce annual carbon emissions by over 50 percent below our baseline while working toward a goal of carbon neutrality by 2035.
- By 2025, 20 percent of all undergraduate courses offered by the university include sustainability components.
- Achieve a solid waste diversion rate of 70 percent by 2025 and explore strategies to work towards a zero-waste goal.
- By 2025, 60 percent of students and 25 percent of employees will be served by a sustainability peer educators program.
- Deepen our engagement with the global Catholic climate movement organizations including the Laudato Si' Network and the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
- Achieve five-year fundraising goal for sustainability efforts of $5 million by 2025.
Progress Update, February 2022
The St. Thomas 2025 Strategic Plan debuted in February 2021. We continually track and report on our progress; here are key developments from the past year, as of February 2024:
St. Thomas just received a gold STARS rating as measured by the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). Our performance improved from the 2021 STARS report in all areas.
We are also well on our way towards obtaining a minimum LEED silver certification for new buildings over 25,000 square feet, Schoenecker Center is 95% to goal; Lee & Penny Anderson Arena is 10% to goal. The Schoenecker Center received positive feedback from US Green Building Council (USGBC) review of the LEED Gold design submittal. Final construction submittal will be sent to USGBC in February, with confirmation of achieving LEED certification anticipated in Summer 2024.
We have also met our goal of reducing annual carbon emissions. Compared to our baseline, in 2023, we saw a 66% reduction in the rate of annual carbon emissions. The University continues to improve heating distribution and control systems, air handling systems, lighting systems, and energy management controls as we work towards our goal of carbon neutrality by 2035.
We are 80% to our goal of including sustainability components within at least 20% of undergraduate courses. We offered 213 sections of undergraduate courses that were sustainability-designated in 2023, 79% of academic departments offer at least one sustainability course, all First-Year Experience students complete an introductory sustainability module, and we launched the Graduate Certificate in Sustainability in the School of Engineering.
Key Leaders
- Dr. Maria Dahmus, Director of the Sustainable Communities Partnership
- Wendy Wyatt, Vice Provost, Academic Affairs
- Mark Vangsgard, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Success Metrics
Success Metrics
- Achieve gold rating as measured by the AASHE Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) sustainability ranking.
- Obtain a minimum of LEED silver certification for new buildings larger than 25,000 square feet.
- Reduce annual carbon emissions by over 50 percent below our baseline while working toward a goal of carbon neutrality by 2035.
- By 2025, 20 percent of all undergraduate courses offered by the university include sustainability components.
- Achieve a solid waste diversion rate of 70 percent by 2025 and explore strategies to work towards a zero-waste goal.
- By 2025, 60 percent of students and 25 percent of employees will be served by a sustainability peer educators program.
- Deepen our engagement with the global Catholic climate movement organizations including the Laudato Si' Network and the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
- Achieve five-year fundraising goal for sustainability efforts of $5 million by 2025.
Progress Update
Progress Update, February 2022
The St. Thomas 2025 Strategic Plan debuted in February 2021. We continually track and report on our progress; here are key developments from the past year, as of February 2024:
St. Thomas just received a gold STARS rating as measured by the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). Our performance improved from the 2021 STARS report in all areas.
We are also well on our way towards obtaining a minimum LEED silver certification for new buildings over 25,000 square feet, Schoenecker Center is 95% to goal; Lee & Penny Anderson Arena is 10% to goal. The Schoenecker Center received positive feedback from US Green Building Council (USGBC) review of the LEED Gold design submittal. Final construction submittal will be sent to USGBC in February, with confirmation of achieving LEED certification anticipated in Summer 2024.
We have also met our goal of reducing annual carbon emissions. Compared to our baseline, in 2023, we saw a 66% reduction in the rate of annual carbon emissions. The University continues to improve heating distribution and control systems, air handling systems, lighting systems, and energy management controls as we work towards our goal of carbon neutrality by 2035.
We are 80% to our goal of including sustainability components within at least 20% of undergraduate courses. We offered 213 sections of undergraduate courses that were sustainability-designated in 2023, 79% of academic departments offer at least one sustainability course, all First-Year Experience students complete an introductory sustainability module, and we launched the Graduate Certificate in Sustainability in the School of Engineering.
Key Leaders
Key Leaders
- Dr. Maria Dahmus, Director of the Sustainable Communities Partnership
- Wendy Wyatt, Vice Provost, Academic Affairs
- Mark Vangsgard, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer